Industry Insights:
The Evolving World of Work
5 KEY TRENDS FOR POST-PANDEMIC CUSTOMER SERVICE
The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly and dramatically transformed the way we work, almost overnight. As lockdowns ease, the acute challenges will fade. But it’s clear that there is no going back to normal. This watershed experience has reset agent and customer service expectations — and accelerated several already-occurring shifts in the contact center world. How can contact centers prepare for this new landscape of agent and customer experience? What does working remotely mean for the future of the contact center? We surveyed 300 contact center professionals — and gathered original tips and insights from experienced thought leaders in the contact center and customer experience world.
Get to know the experts
Jay Baer
Customer Experience & Marketing Expert
Meghan M. Biro
Founder & CEO, TalentCulture
Jeanne Bliss
President, Customer Bliss and co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association
Nate Brown
Chief Experience Officer, Officium Labs
Maribel Lopez
Founder & Principal Analyst, Lopez Research
Audrey William
Principal Advisor, Ecosystm
James Dodkins
CX Rockstar
Sheila McGee-Smith
Founder & Principal Analyst, McGee-Smith Analytics
Shep Hyken
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations
Mike Aoki
Customer Experience Speaker, Trainer, Writer
Paul Stockford
Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research
Nancy Jamison
Industry Director, Frost & Sullivan
Adrian Swinscoe
CX Advisor & Best-Selling Author
Dick Bucci
Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates
3 in 4
The workplace has changed
3 in 4 survey respondents agree that the post-pandemic workplace will be very different
63%
Customer service has changed
63% say customer service will be approached differently after the pandemic
84%
The contact center is more important than ever
84% believe the pandemic permanently elevated the importance of the contact center for their business
INSIDER PERSPECTIVES
Trend 1
A New Standard in Customer Experience
The pandemic forced consumers to interact with organizations in completely new ways, accelerating already-emerging shifts in customer experience expectations.
TOP 4 CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS NOW
Seamless Multichannel Communication
Easy
Video Conferencing
Greater Emotional
Empathy
To Feel Heard by
Brands
INSIDER PERSPECTIVES
Trend 2
Workforce Flexibility is Here to Stay
The pandemic rapidly accelerated the shift toward remote work and flexible hours. Contact centers are already seeing the benefits — to both employees and their businesses — of a more flexible work environment.
72%
say a remote environment will continue long term
85%
plan to continue flex hours long term
FLEXIBLE WORK DRIVES ESSENTIAL BUSINESS VALUE
Employee Satisfaction
72% say agents are happy working remotely
Service Flexibility
47% believe remote working will drive long term service flexibility
Team Performance
73% of managers are satisfied with their remote employees’ productivity
Cost Efficiencies
HALF expect to realize operational cost savings through continuing a remote work environment
Employee Retention
47% believe enabling remote work will increase employee retention
INSIDER PERSPECTIVES
“For the employer, working from home opens up new recruitment opportunities for senior citizens, disabled persons, university students, military spouses and others. Plus, less fixed costs — rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance and tax — associated with brick-and-mortar facilities.”
– Dick Bucci
Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates
“The main perk of remote working is that breaks mean more and are more mentally refreshing. The casual water cooler chatter is replaced with stepping out into a garden, cooking rather than reheating, and spending time with pets or family members.”
– Nancy Jamison
Industry Director, Frost & Sullivan
Trend 3
Workforce Engagement Will Drive Performance
The pandemic reinforced a simple truth: A contact center’s greatest asset is the quality of its people. No matter where employees are working, contact centers are increasingly recognizing that investing in the skills, job engagement and performance of their people delivers value to their customers and to the business. Moreover, as the pandemic barrels down on world economies, businesses are forced into survival mode. Cutting back is a large part of surviving, but even in this uncertain time, businesses are making smart investments to optimize costs while keeping employees engaged from afar.
7 in 10
contact center managers believe that improved employee engagement will drive cost optimization
INSIDER PERSPECTIVES
STEPPING UP INTERACTION EVALUATIONS
1 in 3
contact centers have
INCREASED their evaluations
44%
are using predictive analytics and automation to
enhance Quality Monitoring and WEM
“Old-school Quality Assurance (QA) methods, such as walking the contact center floor, will quickly become obsolete. Analytics will be called upon to modernize and democratize QA, bringing objectivity to the QA process and supporting the career development of remote workers. Like the contact center itself, QA strategies must modernize in order to remain viable.”
– Paul Stockford
Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research
“Agent coaching should focus on:
1. Understanding the customers’ needs and emotions
2. Ability to connect humanly and empathize and reiterate
3. Ability to own the solution and deliver
4. Follow through and ensuring that the customer feels whole”
– Jeanne Bliss
President, Customer Bliss
Trend 4
Contact Center Intelligence has Become Mission-Critical
The pandemic revealed a largely unmet need in most businesses: the ability to understand the voice of the customer in real time — and use that knowledge to drive agile, customer-centric strategies.
90%
of contact managers expect
HIGHER DEMAND FOR CONTACT CENTER ANALYTICS
insights from every department
1 in 4
contact centers are not
collecting the VOC insights they need
INSIDER PERSPECTIVES
DELIVERING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION
9 in 10
contact centers are maintaining or increasing their investment in
BUILDING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PLATFORMS
Trend 5
Agility is the Key Ingredient
Perhaps the most essential takeaway from the pandemic is that the future will be defined by rapid evolution — in what customers want, what technologies make it possible, and what unexpected challenges it will require. The pandemic experience has exposed the need for nimble, agile technologies that integrate easily and adapt rapidly — so businesses are prepared for whatever comes next.
CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE UNLOCKS CRITICAL AGILITY
1 in 10
contact centers made the move to fully cloud-based either before or during the pandemic
78%
plan to increase cloud utilization to enhance agility
INSIDER PERSPECTIVES
Read the Full Survey Report
The State of the Contact Center:
Embracing the Evolving World of Work
Embracing the Evolving World of Work
How Leading Contact Centers are Turning Forced Changes into Future-Ready Strategies
Get to Know the Experts
Jeanne Bliss
President, Customer Bliss and co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association
Social
Website
www.customerbliss.com Nate Brown
Chief Experience Officer, Officium Labs
Social
Website
www.officiumlabs.io Maribel Lopez
Founder & Principal Analyst, Lopez Research
Social
Website
www.lopezresearch.com Sheila McGee-Smith
Founder & Principal Analyst, McGee-Smith Analytics
Social
Website
www.mcgeesmith.com Mike Aoki
Customer Experience Speaker, Trainer, Writer
Social
Paul Stockford
Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research
Social
Website
www.saddletreeresearch.com Adrian Swinscoe
CX Advisor & Best-Selling Author
Social
Website
www.adrianswinscoe.com Dick Bucci
Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates
